by Susan Davis, USA TODAY

by Susan Davis, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON - The Senate delayed until Tuesday a critical test vote on whether to reinstate expired federal benefits for the long-term unemployed.

The chamber was originally scheduled to vote Monday evening, but it delayed the vote to accommodate senators who had not yet arrived back in Washington from the two-week holiday break, apparently because of the winter storms gripping much of the nation.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Nevada Republican Dean Heller are the lead sponsors of the legislation to reinstate for three months unemployment benefits that affect an estimated 1.3 million Americans.

There is likely to be unanimous support among the 55 members of the Senate Democratic caucus for the extension, which means they will need at least four more Republicans to clear procedural hurdles and get the bill to the floor. If the bill fails, Democrats are likely to look for another way to extend the benefits.

The unemployment insurance expired on Dec. 28 because Congress could not agree to the terms of an extension before the holiday break.The benefits came from the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, enacted under the George W. Bush administration in 2008 to provide relief for the long-term unemployed who have exhausted standard unemployment benefits.

Conservatives have opposed the bill because the $6.4 billion cost of the extension is not offset with spending cuts elsewhere in the federal budget. In addition, there is a philosophical view that the benefits deter recipients from looking for jobs.

The fiscally conservative anti-tax group Club for Growth announced its opposition Monday and said it will use the vote to compile their annual scorecard rating lawmakers' conservatism. Club for Growth supports eliminating the program altogether, but it said any extension should be paid for with budget cuts elsewhere. "There is plenty of waste in the federal budget from which to find an offset," the group said in a statement.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a fiscal hawk, announced his opposition Monday. "Spending $6.5 billion in three months without trying to find ways to pay for it or improve the underlying policy is irresponsible, and takes us in the wrong direction," he said.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said before the holiday break that Republicans could consider an extension if the White House and congressional Democrats provide a plan to pay for it.

Democrats argue that unemployment benefits provide critical economic stimulus by boosting consumer spending as well as much-needed relief to Americans who have found it hardest to recover from the economic downturn.

President Obama is also making a public push to renew the benefits. He will host an event Tuesday at the White House with Americans who have lost their benefits. In his weekly radio address Saturday, the president urged Congress to pass the extension.

"Instead of punishing families who can least afford it, Republicans should make it their New Year's resolution to do the right thing, and restore this vital economic security for their constituents right now," Obama said.

Gene Sperling, the director of the White House National Economic Council, on Monday called lingering long-term unemployment "perhaps the worst legacy of the Great Recession" and noted that the benefit system is structured to taper off as unemployment rates fall.

"It is a temporary lifeline in difficult times that our country has relied on for well over a half-century, and the president feels very strongly that this deserves the support of both Democratic and Republican senators...and we believe this deserves to pass," Sperling said.